Morning Stretch: sometimes I do a few yoga poses before I even get out of bed, slowly introducing movement and stretching to my body after hours of sleep. This morning sequence will help you transition from sleep to awake and make it easier to get out of bed.
Apanasana: hug your knees into your chest and gently roll from side to side
Happy Baby: hands come to the outsides of your feet as you bend your knees, bringing them wider than your torso. Soles of the feet face the ceiling as you lengthen your tailbone down to the mattress. You can rock from side to side.
Supine Twists: extend your arms out to the sides in a t shape as you hug your knees into your chest. Let your knees fall over to the right side as you look over your left shoulder. Ground down through your shoulders, and use your right hand to press your knees closer to the mattress.
Bridge: let your arms rest by your sides as you bend you knees and place your feet flat on the mattress. Gently push your hips up toward the ceiling, pressing down through your hands.
Fish: while lying flat on your back, bring your hands underneath your hips, palms down to the mattress. Lift your heart and chest above your shoulders (think pushing from your bra strap area) and stretch your head back.
Seated Forward Fold: sit up, extending your legs in front of you. Inhale to lengthen your spine, then exhale as you fold forward, reaching for your shins, ankles, or toes.
Child's Pose: sitting up, bring your sit bones to your heels, pausing for a few breaths in virasana (hero's pose). Push back into child's pose, keeping your legs together or taking your knees as wide as your hips. Arms can extend over head, using your hands to push your sit bones a little closer to your heels.
Lemon Water: for years I've heard about the benefits of drinking warm lemon water first thing (before eating) in the morning. This hasn't been natural for me as I'm always ravenous when I wake up and want to go straight to eating breakfast. However, I've had more success with this practice since I started squeezing the juice of half a lemon into a cup of water the night before. Then I just microwave it for 90 seconds and drink it while I prepare my breakfast. You can even drink it at room temperature if you prefer. So what's the big deal about warm water and lemon?
-helps constipation
-prevents urinary tract infections
-boosts your immune system and fights off infections (all that vitamin C!)
-reduces inflammation in your body
-cleanses the liver
-promotes weight loss
-boosts brain and nerve function
Read more here!
Goal or Intention Setting: as I eat breakfast, sometimes I write down 5 things I'd like to complete during the day. Taking the time to write down your goals for the day takes them from abstract to concrete, increases your accountability, and makes it more likely that you will actually accomplish them. And goals don't need to be about housework or your job...including goals such as drinking water, pausing to breathe when you feel stressed, or going for a walk at noon make your self-care and wellness a priority.
Additionally, you might choose to set an intention for your day. An intention is a quality or attribute that you wish to cultivate or continue to work on. Intentions such as patience, calm, or kindness are powerful when recalled throughout the day. If I am working on a certain intention for a period of time, I make it the lock screen on my phone. I use a picture that I really like and use a text on photo app (such as Rhonna Designs) and create something that is a beautiful reminder every time I check my phone. I sometimes do this with inspiring quotations as well.
Inspiring Quotations: I LOVE inspiring quotations. I have books of them and I'm always pinning them on Pinterest. After finishing breakfast, I take a cup of tea to my yoga mat and I often choose an inspiring quotation for the day or week. One of my favourite inspirational books is "Brave Enough" by Cheryl Strayed. No matter what page I flip to in this little green book, there is always something that resonates with me. As I mentioned previously, I sometimes turn my favourite quotations into an image for the lock screen of my phone. Or if you'd rather do it old school, print them on a Post It note and stick them to the dash of your car!
Yoga Practice: now that I'm on my mat with a cup of tea and inspiring thoughts in my head, I begin my physical yoga practice. Although I generally practice in my living room, it's important for me to create a tranquil atmosphere. I either burn incense or plug in my Saje diffuser with an essential oil or oil blend. Depending on my mood, it might be a grounding, energizing, uplifting, or calming scent. I am pretty much obsessed with my aromaOm diffuser...so much that I just bought a second one so that I didn't have to keep moving it around the house with me. Saje diffusers are wonderful for cleaning the air and fragrancing your space. My favourite essential oil blends from Saje are Yoga and Tantra, and I always love lavender essential oil.
My morning yoga practice always begins with breathing exercises, cat/cow, child's pose, some gentle twists and side body stretches, and sun salutations Sun salutations are wonderful for warming the body and working nearly every muscle group. After my sun salutations, I do a combination of flow sequences and static poses depending on what my body needs. In order to move forward with my practice, I try to work on a pose that is challenging for me. I find that by practicing it daily, I see a lot more growth and feel like I'm getting somewhere in my practice. Since I'm a yoga teacher, I usually make up my own sequences. If you're not comfortable with that, an online class might be a better option for you. See this post for free online yoga resources.
Above: hard at work on Warrior III as my challenging pose of the day
After a nice long savasana, I sit in meditation for a few minutes and practice gratitude (learn more about meditation and gratitude in future posts). Then I open my eyes, ready to begin my day...always feeling stronger, calmer, and more quietly energized than when I got out of bed. Teaching is a very demanding profession, and we owe it to ourselves and our students to take the very best possible care of ourselves. Developing a morning ritual that feeds your soul is an important part of being the best teacher you can be each day.
No comments:
Post a Comment